WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered a North Carolina man released from custody Wednesday while he awaits trial on a charge of threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered Floyd Roseberry, 50, of Grover, North Carolina, released to the custody of his wife on Monday. Roseberry has been in pretrial detention since he was arrested last August after livestreaming himself parked outside the Library of Congress in what he described as a truck full of explosives. Following his arrest, investigators determined the vehicle did not contain an explosive device, but said “possible bomb-making materials” were discovered inside.
Contreras ordered Roseberry to undergo a mental competency screening last year. That screening, conducted by Dr. Teresa Grant, a psychologist for the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health, determined Roseberry had been prescribed the wrong medication to treat his bipolar disorder. Grant said she was “shocked” when she learned a primary care physician had Roseberry on Valium and Adderall – a mixture, she said Monday, known to trigger manic and psychotic episodes in individuals with bipolar disorder.
According to Grant, Roseberry had been switched to a mood stabilizer and had been stable and without incident for “months and months.”
Roseberry’s attorney requested he be released to the custody of his wife, and on Wednesday, Contreras granted that motion over the objection of prosecutors. In addition to the testimony from Grant about the issues with Roseberry’s previous medication, Contreras gave credit for an incident at the D.C. Jail where he intervened to protect a guard from another inmate who had assaulted the guard from behind and broken his jaw.
Roseberry will be released to 24-hour confinement at his home in North Carolina with GPS monitoring. Contreras also ordered him to attend a scheduled appointment with a psychiatrist in North Carolina and to maintain his current medication regimen unless otherwise directed.
No trial date is currently scheduled in Roseberry’s case. Attorneys have said they believe a pretrial resolution is possible. If convicted of threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction, Roseberry faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
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